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A COURSE IN MIRACLES
STUDY GROUP
WITH RAJ

January 31st, 2018

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THIS IS A ROUGH TRANSCRIPT. IT IS NOT IN ITS FINAL FORM AND WILL BE UPDATED

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Good morning. And welcome to everyone who’s joining us on the Internet.

Yesterday was a day that a lot of people gave attention to—not just in the United States but around the world as well—because a State of the Union message was delivered.

People listened . . . Governments listened . . . to find out whether there was something more to be concerned about or something to be relieved about.

And so, we’re going to talk about a State of the Union message—not the one that was given, but the one that everyone is living, whether they’re conscious of it or not. If one is not conscious of there being a State of the Union that they are a part of, they are concerned, they are fearful, and it becomes exhausting. And the reason is, that they don’t know who they Are. And they are helped not to know who they Are by distraction.

In many ways the State of the Union message that was delivered was really a State of the Business address—an exposition of commercial and financial progress and opportunity, and not having much to do with, let’s say, the individuals employed by the business of America—meaning the citizens of America.

Now, if indeed, the citizens of America are the employees of the business called America, then they have an opportunity, by the simple sheer force of their numbers, to form a Union. And to be a member of a Union, to be a part of a Union, is a far different experience from being the slave of those who manage the business, those who run the business, those who conduct business for their benefit and in competition with other businesses around the globe, all of which are, shall I say, fleshed out—carrying out the manufacturing aspects of the business—by the citizens of those countries, who in many cases think they have no options because the idea of Union is disallowed, discouraged, and not allowed to grow. This is very important.

If you stop and think about it, those who are governed far out-number those who engage in governing. The majority, for lack of better words, play the role of being “the governed.” And it does not represent democracy. And I’m not talking politics here. I’m talking fairness that values every single individual and looks for equality for each and every individual because the individual rather than the business is what matters.

All government is self-government. The only problem is that far too many individuals don’t realize that they are governing themselves in the role of being “the governed,” without equality, without equal presence, without equal voice. And they have been conditioned to believe this. But it’s not true.

All government is self-government. The shift from identifying one’s self as being one of the governed to the awareness that one is always governing himself for good or for ill, for himself . . . there’s all the difference in the world because the latter empowers every single individual, whereas the former is a practice of disempowerment, and therefore of distress, of abuse, of misery. And it’s all developed on a false premise.

Now, just humanly speaking, let’s take a look at the preamble to the Constitution of the United States. This is a fundamental of democracy, even more, it’s a fundamental of human existence everywhere on the globe, everywhere there is a human being, everywhere there is that which is alive.

It says—important word—“WE the People.” Not WE the business man, not WE the corporations. “We the People”—the people who laugh and cry, the people who are happy or sad, the people who feel well or not well. Those who all understand each other in these terms, and recognize their equality in all of these respects . . .

“We—the People who have lived under domination, who have lived under tyranny, who have lived under King and serfdom dynamics . . .

“We the People do this in order to form a more perfect union of ourselves—in our dignity, in our presence, in who and what we Are, in what we have in common, because we recognize each others’ needs. Because we’ve been under distress from apparently outside forces by those who seemed to govern us, when we didn’t realize we were governing ourselves poorly.

“And so, now we are doing something different.

“We the People, in order to form a more perfect union” for each and every one of us, “to establish justice” for each and every one of us, “to insure domestic tranquility” for each and every one of us, “to provide for the common defense” of each and every one of us—not just the rich or the good or the Christians, no, for each and every one of us—“to promote the general welfare” for each and every one of us, “and secure the lessons, the blessings of liberty” for each and every one of us, “to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution,” this set of rules that supports, what? Our union. Our honoring our humanity. Our addressing our human needs because we care, because the support of each other is of paramount importance, and we know this from experience of not having had it.”

The People, whether they are the People of the United States of America, or the People of Czechoslovakia, or the People of England, or the People of any country in the world, these are the ones . . . YOU are the ones who need to stand together in terms of your dignity and your worth and your deserving of every good thing that procures peace and blessing and harmony and tranquility and safety. You’re already the largest presence of “We the People”—every single one of you on the globe!

Now, I know that many, many, many of you wake up in the morning wondering what harmful, hurtful news might confront you today. This is anywhere in the world. And in some places the onslaught of negativity seems greater than others. And the feeling is discouragement. And the question arises, [sarcastic chuckle] “Well, what can I do? What can puny little me do?” And the question is an expression of hopelessness.

And yet if you understood—I’m going to say, your position—if you understood that government is self-government and no one else is actually forcing you to behave in a self-demeaning way, you will wake up in the morning and you will say, “What can I do?” And because that is the question to be asking, not avoiding, you will ask it of what? Of yourself? Of the one you think you are at the moment? Of the downtrodden one who has no capacity? No, you ask of the Holy Spirit or you ask of God. You ask of That Which Knows, because you are not the puny piss ant mortal that you’ve taught yourself to be, or others have bullied you into being. You are the holy Son or Daughter of God and, therefore, you have a right and an obligation to ask, “What can I do?” expecting that there is an answer to the question, a resolving answer to the question.

Now I have shared the statement before that, “You are neither behind the point of perfection, nor advancing toward it. You are at that point and must understand yourself therefrom.” So you see, you can’t start from a standpoint of a downtrodden, mistreated, abused, exhausted entity who has no choice. That isn’t what you Are. That’s what you think you are, that’s what you have come to believe you are. But your belief hasn’t changed what you divinely Are—the Expression of God.

Now, in the Bible John said, “Now are we the Sons of God.1” And I will say, “Now, are we the Sons and Daughters of God.” And it does not yet appear what we shall be. In other words, the future is not relevant. “Now are we the Sons of God and it does not yet appear what we shall be. But we know that when he—meaning the Christ—shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself daily, even as he is pure.” What’s that mean, even as he is pure, even as he is now pure? Because now are we the Sons of God and now we must understand ourselves in that true light.

You are not governed by those who claim to govern you. If those who claim to govern you are succeeding, it is because you are yielding your integrity up in favor of an integrity you are giving to the one in control. And you are not required to do that. In fact, if you want to experience your joy, you’re going to have to realize that you have another option. And then you are going to have to engage in taking hold of it by sincerely asking of the Holy Spirit, “What do I need to know?”

If the Holy Spirit is nothing more than your right Mind, in other words, You in your right Mindedness rather than your belief of being something puny, inconsequential, mistreated and unable to do anything about it, when you are willing to engage with That of You which cannot be destroyed and has never gone anywhere, in other words, your right Mind, your Sanity, when you engage with It the Truth is revealed to you by It. And we’ve talked about this before, but I need to keep bringing it up.

Very often, students of A Course In Miracles will say, “Well, I just turn it over to the Holy Spirit. You know, it’s like I put the slip of paper with my need on it . . . I put it in the Holy Spirit’s inbox and leave it there for the Holy Spirit to take care of.” Well, that isn’t effective. That isn’t the way it works because you misunderstand what the Holy Spirit is. If the Holy Spirit—as it says in the Course—is nothing more than your right Mind, then when you turn it over to the Holy Spirit you are bringing your attention to the Holy Spirit and you are saying, “Show me the Truth. Reveal to me the Truth that you have been holding in trust for me while I have been believing I have been an ego downtrodden and bullied and controlled by others whom I can’t do anything about.”

So, this sense of self that you are currently experiencing brings its attention to That of You which is your divine Sanity, which is ever-present with you because you can’t be separated from It. And in listening rather than just leaving it in the Holy Spirit’s inbox, by listening, you engage the function of the Holy Spirit, which is to connect with you in your present limited sense of yourself and reveal to you the divine one that you Are, uncovering to you your capacity to see what is Real and what isn’t, as well as, revealing to you how to behave in the circumstances you seem to be in, so that you become free.

When you are miserable, when you are frightened, when you feel as though things are in control of you that you have no control over, this is exactly the time that you need to be humble enough to say to yourself, “I don’t have all the answers. I don’t know enough to come to any conclusions here, especially ones that immobilize me and cause me to continue to feel hopeless and, therefore, I will reach outside of my incapacity and ask the Father or ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the Truth to me.”

Now, the Truth that’s going to be revealed isn’t going to be a string of words, it isn’t going to be platitudes, it isn’t going to be sharp, wonderful rejoinders that nail the opposition. No. The answers are going to be meanings felt by you, constituting an experiential understanding, not an intellectual one in which it’s clear to you that whatever a bully is engaged in, whatever bad behavior people are engaged in, it’s behavior that is occasioned by their being backed into a corner of helplessness and hopelessness that calls for them to defend themselves by any means possible, which comes out as bullying or lying or any form of self-defense that is critical and mean-spirited. You see?

And oh-h, there comes an awareness of Brotherhood because you can understand feeling that way, and you can understand having responded with mean-spirited retorts or actions, even though you may not have adopted that as a style of being. And so, there is room for compassion, while at the same time being aware that the behavior has to be stopped, the controlling, the lying, the arrogance and on and on has to stop. But of course, that’s where the fear comes and the feeling is, “What can I do? I don’t know how to cope with this.” And when you say that, you’re saying, “I not only don’t have any comprehension of what to do, I am in such a vulnerable place that I don’t want to take the time to find out, because if I do, I will have to stop defending myself. And that’s more important.”

And yet, once again, when you pay attention to what’s revealed, such as, the fact that the one who is behaving badly is behaving that way because he or she feels cornered, stuck, out of control, vulnerable and must bring every ounce of personal energy forth to defend himself or herself, you must ask, “What does it take to provide that which will cause that one to be willing to lower his or her defenses?”

You see, under the circumstances you seem to be called to bring into play the very abuse that you’re suffering from as a form of self-defense, but of course, that isn’t the you that is the Son or Daughter of God, at least not the realized one. And yet you are the Son or Daughter of God. And I’m here to remind you of that. And you need under the circumstances to remind yourself as well, because that’s the only thing that will suffice to cause you to shift gears.

You’re always giving voice to one of the two teachers: the Voice for Truth or the voice for fear. It’s your Function, it’s your joy, it’s your healing to give voice to the Voice for Truth and it is your Brother’s healing as well.

Now, are you the Sons and Daughters of God, and it does not yet appear what you shall be: but now you are the Sons and Daughters of God and you know that when He—the Son of God—shall appear in your Brother or Sister you shall be like Him; for you will see Him as He is. How will you see Him as He is? By abandoning your inclination to be in self-defense and bully back, and asking to know what is the Truth here so that you might feel your Brotherhood, your equality, your capacities to feel all of the same important things. And when you hold your Brother in that Vision, you will see Him as He is and you will be like Him and that will make it possible for Him to see Himself in You. That’s the way it works.

Part of this, an inseparable part of this union, this Brotherhood that already exists and has existed from the beginning is the fact that as you see the Truth of another you say, “No, to that which doesn’t reflect the Truth.” But you do not do it in the form of attack, you do it in the form of guided education, letting the Expression of Truth that comes out of your mouth be guided by your connection with the Holy Spirit. You’re turning it over to the Holy Spirit and standing attentive in front of the Holy Spirit waiting the Holy Spirit’s response which is really your natural, inherent divine wisdom, which it is not only your Birthright to give Expression to, it’s what your Brother deserves because it is that which heals.

Now, there is cause for rejoicing because you have a way out of the dilemma, and it’s a way that will involve you that will, for lack of better words, grow you into a fuller experience of what you divinely Are, which is a joyful experience. But it unavoidably constitutes involvement with your Brother saying, “Yes,” to Truth and “No,” to illusion and providing the clarity that shows the difference in a way that has the optimal chance of being understood because you’re not doing it with an edge of anger, or an edge of superiority, but from a place of Brotherly equality that Brothers and Sisters everywhere can recognize even if they can’t immediately trust it, because they’re feeling too vulnerable still.

So, the State of the Union can’t just be expressed as the State of THE Union, it’s not the Union of the thirteen colonies, it’s not the Union of Fifty States. It’s the Union of mankind, the Union of all that it truly means to be human and embracing everyone in the Truth of the humanity of every single Individuality on your planet and other places.

So, it is not what is the State of the Union, it’s what is the State of your Union? What is the State of your Union? Well, your Union with what? Your Union with each other. Well, the nature of your Union is established. “Now are we the Sons of God.” “You are neither behind the point of perfection nor advancing toward it.” The State of your Union is established fully, completely, unalterably. The State of your Union is secure. Your Union with your Brothers and Sisters was established by God in the act of Creation, or let us say, it is established forever in the now, in the Movement of Creation which is forever new.

The State of your Union is indivisible. “Now are you the Sons of God.” It was established indivisible because God is indivisible. And because it is indivisible it is incapable of being fragmented. Now you all have experience of fragmentation, but it is only through the use of your imagination that you have been able to concoct such a discombobulating [chuckling] frightening experience, but it is an illusion.

The Union of the Brotherhood of Man, the Sisterhood of Women, the Brotherhood and Sisterhood is indivisible, unfragmented, whole, full of integrity.

Now, this is what you must get up in the morning and have as your perspective. This must be your perspective when you turn on the television or pick up the newspaper. This must be your perspective when you find yourself being curious to see what god awful thing so-and-so is doing today, watch the curiosity to see how bad things can get so that you may self-righteously cluck about it. Because in so doing, you’re playing the orphan, you’re being an independent. You are not joined with the Holy Spirit to want to know what the Truth is and, therefore, you are caught in that place where abuse can happen and you will feel no escape from it because you have an investment in seeing the awfulness of so-and-so. And you are looking from that perspective. You only have two perspectives available to you, the separatist perspective or the joined perspective.

Wayne Dyer referred to the ego as, “That which edges God out.” If you don’t want to be miserable, then when you get up in the morning, be alert and make sure that you have not slipped into the attitude where you are edging God out. And be careful when you turn on the TV that you’re not going there to find justification for edging God out. And instead desire to know the Truth of the Holy Spirit which is the Voice for Truth, the Voice for God, so that you might know what to say, “No” to without anger or self-righteousness or superiority, but that which to say, “No” to because it simply is not the Truth and you are not willing to invest any emotional energy into it. It simply isn’t True. It, therefore, is an illusion, it therefore, is meaningless, it requires you to do nothing except not accept it and say, “No.” Vote, “No.”

The good news is, nobody is governing you no matter where you are on the globe except the choice of perspective you are choosing to use and that’s what governs your experience, that’s what governs your actions.

The answer is: the State of your Union was established in the beginning. The Union of the Brotherhood at this moment is ultimate. Choose for It! Choose for what will uncover it, where it’s hidden with grace, not with permissiveness—with grace. No, stated with grace is adamant. Yes, said with grace is felt as Love and paves the way for transformation.

It is time on the globe for every single individual to embrace his humanity. And his humanity is a Wholeness in which all of the Sons and Daughters of God are held safely. And it’s the task of everyone to choose to be the people who wish to form a perfect Union for each and every one of us, to establish justice for each and every one of us, to insure domestic tranquility for each and every one of us—each and every one of us everywhere on the globe—which promotes the general welfare of every single one of us. That’s where things are right now. It’s where things have been for as long as the dream of mortality has been engaged in.

I am here to do for and with you what you are here to do for and with each other. You’re not always kind to me. You do not always speak well of me. You sometimes do not like me at all. But that’s irrelevant because your distress is caused by your very narrow perspective and not by our relationship. And the same thing is true with your fellowman. And no matter how difficult it seems it will be to make a difference, that’s nothing more than your conditioning. Because the simple act of the two-step, of going into the holy instant and shutting up all the mind chatter that gets you fouled up so that in the silence you can say, “Father,” or, “Holy Spirit, what is the Truth here?” That is exactly the means to have the revelation that undoes the illusion and causes you no longer to be confused by it, distracted by it, incapable of acting. And in the clarity of your mind and heart and soul you can feel the Truth, experience the Truth that there is no way for your Brother or Sister to be excluded from. And that changes you into, we’ll say, a new Being that heals and transforms. And you will learn to persist with this and rejoice in it instead of it being reduced to a huddled mass of quivering fear because you’ve taken the bait, hook, line and sinker and forgotten that you have a choice.

Again, the State of your Union is established. It’s secure. It’s indivisible, incapable of being fragmented. And it’s at peace and it’s glorious.

I love you very much. And I look forward to being with you next time.

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References:

1 Bible: 1 John 3:2-3

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